The Phantom of the Air Base Speedway
by Author25
Summary: The other racers tease Speedy about the ghost he saw at the Northern Snow-base when he and Todd went for a small drive around the track. However, things take an unexpected turn when Speedy sees the ghostly figure driving around the track the following night. Determined to prove it was really a ghost he saw, Speedy decides to do a stakeout. Halloween Story that I didn't upload here


The sun rose over the horizon to start a new morning in North Carolane as the racers were getting ready for the qualifying rounds to begin. The race officials and board of directors for the Piston Cup Racing Series had decided to set up a Halloween event this year at the Northern Snow-base Speedway.

The Northern Snow-base was an old dirt track that had been built by the military to test the off-road capabilities of their rookies during the winter seasons from 1874 to 1932, before it was destroyed in the Autumn of 1932 and then was abandoned in 1937. The old track took the rookies from the base to the blue ridge mountains, 303 miles West of the track, completely offroad. While plans to rebuild the speedway started in 1935, its actual rebuild only started in 1948 and was finished in 1950, with the speedway opening a few months later for the third season of the Piston Cup racing series. In 1965, tarmac tracks were introduced, which meant once again, it was abandoned and left in ruins for many years.

But if you were to see the in-field now, you wouldn't have thought it had been abandoned. It was very busy as crews were setting up, crew chiefs were talking to their racers, all the racers were busy doing something except for Blinkr's racer, Speedy Comet. Now normally, Speedy was always one of the few racers who couldn't wait to get out and race but instead, Speedy was hiding in his trailer. But eventually, Speedy emerged and was on his way to pit row. Everyone who saw him all noticed he looked scarred for life and they all could have sworn the blue paint above the bumpers was starting to turn white. He drove onto pit row and stopped in his pit box. McQueen was in his pit box behind him and smiled when he saw him.

"Morning Speedy." McQueen greeted him. "How are you this morning?"

"Morning," Speedy replied, not sounding very interested nor focused. The other racers noticed this. And from what Todd had told them, it was clear something was troubling Speedy.

"So Speedy," Darren began, trying to break the awkward silence between them, as he drove onto pit row. "what happened to you last night?"

Speedy said nothing, but continued to look at his hood as his pitties changed his tires.

This time, Ponchy spoke up. He had been out on the track with Murray, Dirkson and Ernie. "Come on, you can tell us."

Speedy looked up at Ponchy, he could see his comforting smile. He looked down at his hood before looking up again, this time seeing Todd, Murray, Dirkson and Ernie smiling. Despite not being able to see McQueen and Darren, he could tell that they were smiling at him too.

Speedy smiled slightly before it disappeared as he looked to his right. He looked back again. "Promise you won't laugh?"

Before anyone could say anything, Ponchy interrupted. "Of course, mate."

Speedy took a deep breath and started to explain. "Well, Todd and I had arrived at the speedway in the morning before the rest of you. It was like 1 am when we arrived..."

The trailers came to a stop completely and the haulers were unhinged.

"Good night lads." Todd's and Speedy's driver called.

"Good night!" came the replies from within the trailers.

The drivers drove off and headed for their sleeping spot on the other side of the track. Once the drivers were gone, Speedy and Todd settled down again and tried to go to sleep, but there was just too much noise. The chain link fence around the track creaked and the wooden boards at the starting line groaned as the wind blew through them. There was also a loud continuous hum coming from the generators and the bright shine of the floodlights. Because of the age of the track, the floodlights couldn't be turned on so the race officials used generators and collapsable lights to light up the area. Speedy tried to go to sleep but try as he might, he finally gave up. He glanced over at Todd's trailer as curiosity got the better of him as opened his trailer door and drove down the ramp. He turned his front tires and drove up to Todd's trailer.

"Hey Todd, you awake?" He asked. A few seconds later, Todd's trailer door opened and he drove out and onto the ramp.

"No thanks to those damn generators." Todd sighed. "I wish somecar would turn them off."

Speedy glanced around and smirked slightly. "You know, since we're awake, let's go do something before we die of boredom."

Todd looked around. Despite the hum of the generators, everything seemed silent and still. The darkness and the fog around the tents and garages made everything a lot creepier.

"I don't know." Todd admitted nervously.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun."

"Isn't this like a very big cliche in every horror movie?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Besides, think about all the theories people will come up with if we get killed off."

"That seriously does NOT fill me with much confidence." Todd admitted. Speedy rolled his eyes.

"Come on Todd. I'll be with you every turn of your tires. And hey, if you want to turn back at any point, you let me know, ok?" Speedy calmly told.

Todd smiled warmly at Speedy before he looked around again. Todd then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as he drove down the ramp. The ramp slowly rose behind him as the two glanced around nervously.

"So, where do you want to go?" He asked.

Speedy looked around before gesturing for Todd to follow him. "Since we can't sleep and while the track is lit, we could go for a few laps of the track. Just to break it in."

Speedy bravely took the lead as they drove between two rows of garages. The cold wind tickled their undercarriages as they drove through the fog. But as Speedy was about to drive out from between the pit garages and into the area behind the pits, a Halloween decoration hanging on the wall on his right caught his eye. Speedy chuckled quietly.

"They really should have chosen better decorations," Speedy told Todd. "These look like the ones you'd find at a very cheap convenience store."

That was when the lights from the collapsible floodlights decided to suddenly turn off. Speedy jumped slightly at the loud clunk.

"Ok, I know I said I wanted the generators to be turned off, but now I wish they were turned on again."

Speedy turned his attention from Todd and back to the decoration. Now, it didn't look fake at all. In the dark, the track looked like a haunted attraction. The cobwebs that race officials hung up looked even more fake compared for the actual cobwebs that littered the fence. The decorations swayed slightly in the wind and the fog made them look even creepier from a distance.

"Do you wanna turn back?"

"No, I think I'm good." Todd replied.

Speedy took a deep breath and drove out of the shadows of the tents that were being cast by the moon and out into the back area of pit row. Once he was out of the shadow, he glanced to his left before glancing right. He took a deep breath and drove out further before turning to his right, onto pit row. But he had no idea that Todd had turned left to look inside a tent.

When Todd came back out, Speedy was nowhere to be seen. Todd moved up to where Speedy had been and glanced around. He listened the distance, but very faint, was a low rumble to his right, so he decided to follow it to see if Speedy went that way.

Further up the row, Speedy turned to his left and onto the home straight. He suddenly stopped as he noticed that high above the stands, a light was on in one of the VIP rooms and just at the window was a blacked-out car staring right at him.

"Whoa. You look very scary, pal." Speedy chuckled. "How did you get your paintwork to look like that?"

But Speedy stopped laughing when he heard "Speedy, who are you talking to?" coming from behind him. Todd was still a little further down the row but the two could hear each other.

Speedy's face fell as he glanced behind him before looking back to the window. The figure in the window continued to stare coldly at him, Speedy began to feel uneasy.

"Hey Speedy?" Todd asked cautiously.

"Llllll-let's get out of here!" Speedy suddenly shouted, his fight or flight instincts kicking in. Speedy's sudden fear caused Todd to jump as he watched Speedy race backwards past him. Speedy didn't want to stop until he reached the safety of his trailer.

Speedy finished his story as uncomfortable silence kicked in.

"Wait, that's why you ran away?" Todd asked.

"After you left, I was all alone and very nervous. I glanced around to see what had frightened you but I didn't see anything. Well, I did see a Halloween decoration hanging on the wall on the home straight, just in front of where you were. I just assumed that's what you saw," Todd concluded.

"I didn't realise you saw a ghost."

"Don't be silly." Phil's deep voice interrupted Todd's train of thought, a loud and obnoxious laugh escaping his lips shortly afterwards. "Ghosts don't exist."

"I'm not being silly," Speedy retorted.

"Of course you are." Phil interrupted again. "Ghosts aren't real, they're just an old wives' tale to get kid-cars to behave. Next thing you'll tell me it's that you've met Jack Frost or that you heard the Banshee."

"Ok, do you have a logical explanation for what I saw then?"

"Well no, but that doesn't mean that it was a ghost. I mean if it was a ghost, why would they turn on the light in that room?" Phil snorted. "Just to give you a scare?"

"Actually, the race officials confirmed that there was a construction crew up at the rooms when Speedy and I arrived." Todd interrupted. "They started cleaning up when they saw us pull up, which was why the generators shut down when we were driving around. They must have left the light on."

"There you see Speedy." Chip added. "You probably just saw one of the construction workers, probably watching you in case you broke something."

"I think I can tell the difference between a pitty and a damn ghost," Speedy retorted.

"Clearly," Phil snorted, as his rear wheels spun and he drove away. Speedy watched him drive away, feeling both annoyed and foolish.

And throughout the entire qualifying round, Phil teased Speedy whenever they saw each other. Speedy was getting more and more annoyed. He knew he'd seen a ghost, but he didn't know how to prove it.

That night however, Speedy was asleep in his trailer when he heard a ghostly wail from outside. He opened his eyes and saw Phil driving past, continuing to wail.

"Whoo!" He called. "I'm the ghost that Speedy saw. Fear me."

Speedy snorted as Phil reversed up the ramp and into his trailer, but then remembered the advice the others had given him. He exhaled loudly as he closed his eyes and got ready to go to sleep. Suddenly, he opened his eyes when he heard the sound of an engine rumbling softly in the distance.

'That's strange.' He thought. 'Everyone else is in their trailers.'

Speedy tried to concentrate on just the noise, which to him sounded like it was getting closer. At last, he pressed the button to open the rear door and he waited until it was completely down before driving out. No sooner did he drive onto the trailer door than he caught sight of a black figure driving around the track. It was the same figure as the one he saw in the window the night before. Speedy's eyebrows lowered. He looked to his left and then to his right. Satisfied his fellow racers were asleep, he drove down the ramp slowly until he was certain he was at a safe distance and started to speed up. As he drove between the garages behind pit row, he saw the figure coming out of turn two and down the straight. He drove between two pit boxes, onto the lane and followed the figure up the track. The wall between the track and the pits separated them but Speedy didn't care, he remembered the wall would end and he could get onto the track. But just before he got to it, the figure disappeared into the fog, completely swallowed up.

Speedy slowed down as he drove onto the track. He couldn't see anything in the fog. Speedy crept slowly forward, listening as he drove slowly through the first turn. The fog made him feel uncomfortable. It was then he realised he couldn't hear the soft hum of an engine anymore. The figure had vanished into thin air. Speedy stayed up for the rest of the night in his trailer but the figure never showed itself.

The next night, Speedy decided enough was enough and decided to stay up again, but this time, hide on the track. He hid in the entrance under the bleachers on the home stretch, where he could keep watch. Speedy waited patiently in the shadows: seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours until finally, two hours later, he heard the sound of the engine again. He drove out of the dark of the entrance and onto the track. He looked down the track and saw the figure driving away. Speedy smirked and quickly drove after it. As soon as he got to the last pit box, the figure disappeared once again into the fog. Speedy was very annoyed until he realised he could still hear the hum of the engine. He looked to his left and saw the figure had somehow teleported to the end of turn one and was now driving down the backstraight.

"Your teleportation powers wouldn't get you very far!" Speedy called triumphantly as he sped up once again and chased down the figure.

Speedy's exhausts vibrated as the sound of his engine erupted from them and echoed around the valley. He had been going so fast that the noise woke up the others in their trailers. The doors came down as they drove out, very annoyed. Their faces then changed to confusion as they watched the figure driving down the back straight in front of them.

"Was that-" Todd's question was interrupted as Speedy shot past, kicking up dirt as he went by.

Speedy drove very close to the inside wall in turn two, smirking triumphantly when he realised he was catching up. As he left turn two, he was right behind it. He moved to its left and started to draw alongside.

"Ah ha," Speedy called as he pulled up alongside the figure. "I've got you now…" He then paused as he realised he could make out a cream and red paint scheme. He was left speechless when he saw the figure had green eyes too. The car looked over and smiled apologetically.

"Oh, do forgive me." Speedy blinked as he studied the car, his 'ghost' turned out to be an older designed stock car from earlier years of the Piston Cup series. "I didn't mean to wake you." He smiled.

"But...you're not a ghost." Speedy was so surprised, he didn't immediately process what he just said.

"Ghost?" the older car asked before he chuckled. "I may be old, but I'm not that old."

The other cars were still slightly annoyed that they got woken up so early when they pulled up alongside and in front of the pair but their faces fell once again when they saw the older car next to Speedy. The older car smiled, glancing from each racer.

"I do apologize for waking you all. I just wanted to stretch these old wheels while no car was around."

Cal was the first one to get out of his daze. "So, who are you?"

Chip gasped loudly. "Who is this, WHO IS THIS?! THIS, is the legendary Jet Robinson, also known as the 'Robinson Rocket', the original title holder for achieving the most wins in a single season until the Hudson Hornet took over the title in '53 as well as for setting a record on the same track in two seasons and the Piston Cup champion in '47, '48 and '50."

"My, my." Robinson smiled. "Didn't realise I still had fans. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, I'm a very big fan." Chip smiled. "I er, may or may not have used your racing techniques in races…" Chip admitted embarrassed, looking down at his hood.

"Ah ha, I told you so." Phil proclaimed excitedly. "I knew there was no ghost but no one ever listens to me."

"There's a very good reason for that." One of the racers muttered under their breaths. Phil glared at them.

"But something doesn't add up though." Speedy looked over at Robinson. "What exactly are you doing here?"

"Simple, my dear racer. The board of directors thought it would be a good idea to have the racer that took the first ever win on this track to be a special guest. Even do some races with fans."

"Dibs on being the first one!" Chip announced excitedly.

The other races laughed but no one laughed harder than Speedy. However, unknown to Speedy, there were security cameras covering the track in case someone broke in during the night. On the night that Speedy got a fright, the camera covering the home straight had caught Speedy running away at twelve minutes past one in the morning and Todd leaving the track to go find him five minutes later. But about two hours later, the camera then captured a strange black figure passing in front of it. The black figure rolled right past the camera and continued cruising down the track before it faded out of existence as it reached the point where the home straight meets turn one. At first, the race officials just assumed it was Todd trying to find Speedy but that theory was shot down thirty seconds later, when Todd appeared on the camera driving onto pit row and going the opposite way. The race officials decided not to leak this to the press and agreed that after the event was over, they would never return to the speedway again. Because this was never leaked to the public, Speedy never knew he actually had seen a ghost.

But I think that's for the best, don't you?


End file.
